Challenges to Small business people post Corona Pandemic

Our country is mainly driven by self employed people which include small business people. This constitutes more than 200 million in numbers. These people are professionals, shopkeepers, retailers, small factories, carpenters, etc. Etc. The families of self financed people is dependent on day to day businesses. They also generate job to various people thus supporting larger part of the Indian population. To sum up more than 800 million people are dependent on this segment. 

Corona pandemic is going to change the current business fabric drastically in near to medium term. There is lock down of 21 days, later it will be relaxed but that will be beginning of the problem for this segment. On one side there is Disaster Managemnt Act forcing the entrepreneur to pay the salary/ wages for this period and on the other side their will be no revenue for some time. Also the fixed expenses of their establishment  like interest, rent etc. will continue  to be charged to them. Even the taxation burden will be tremendous to these people. Major challenge to these people will be from the realisation side where the customers may not pay them in time crushing the whole cycle. I can foresee this that huge recovery problems are going to damage the small entrepreneur badly where in every one will use the corona as shelter to defer the payment genuinely and non genuinely too. Another challenge will be to restart the business particularly with labourers who may have moved back to their villages far away from the work place. This will impact the supply chain badly affecting the business operations. 

So far there is no major support announced to this segment which firms maximum part of a over all working population . The protection and support to this segment is immensely needed for the survival of Indian economy and grow further. The damage to this segment may have cascading effect on various other sectors like real state, infrastructure, autimibile, gem & Jewellery, textile etc. I wish there will be certainly some boost to this segment and GOI is working relentlessly to take care. This segment can also be called as basic pillar of Indian economy which is badly affected by corona pandemic. 

CP